8-10 May 2007, Leipzig

Thematic Pillar: Innovations beyond Technology

Session: Innovative Science for Sustainability,

Session Presentation by Thomas Jahn: Social-Ecological Research: An Integrative Approach in Science for Sustainability

With its integrative transdisciplinary research approaches developed as part of the FONA programme Germany is pioneering the European environmental and sustain-ability sciences. Social-ecological research takes up an exceptional role within this field of research. Emerged at the beginning of the early 1990s in the non-university research domain social-ecological research is now being funded for more than five years by a dedicated BMBF framework programme.

This new exciting research field concentrates on the complex problems occurring at the interface of nature and society. Social-ecological research gains its distinction from its challenging transdisciplinary practice. A wide variety of research projects up to now contributed tackling the urging problems globalised societies are faced with such as climate change, demographic trends, urban and regional development, transport and infrastructures.

Within three presentations social-ecological research will be introduced as an inte-grative approach in science for sustainability. The opening presentation will characterize the key elements of social-ecological research and introduce the framework programme as an advanced innovative instrument of funding policy. It will be followed by two examples from research practice in the fields of transformations of water infrastructures and of organic agriculture and food in a regional perspective.  download presentation (48 kb)

Session Innovations beyond Technology

The Relevance of Research for Sustainability- Experiences from the Interface of Policy & Science

Experiences from the Interface of Policy and Science in The Netherlands and Other Countries DE WIT, Bert Advisory Council for Research on Spatial Planning, Nature and the Environment (RMNO), Den Haag, The Netherlands, download presentation (158 kb)

Commentary on the contribution of Bert de Wit: JAHN, Thomas Institute for Social-Ecological Research (ISOE), Frankfurt, Germany, download presentation (38 kb)

or http://www.fona.de/de/3_akteure/forum_2007/index.php?we_objectID=4808&lang=eng

Session Strategies for the City of Tomorrow

Immanuel Stiess "Life Cycle Management of Urban Neighbourhoods – A Demand-Oriented Approach to Urban Renewal", download presentation (170 kb)

	Further information on the conference "Sustainable Neighbourhood – from Lisbon to Leipzig through Research" you can find under: http://www.fona.de/L2L
	Detailed information on the funding programme Social-Ecological Research (SÖF), established in 1999 by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) you will find here: http://www.sozial-oekologische-forschung.org/en/index.phpen/index.php
	The English abstract of the conceptual framework of the new funding programme "Social-Ecological Research" is available here: http://www.isoe.de/ftp/soceco.pdf
	More than 220 scientists signed up a statement for strengthening the Social-Ecological Research in Germany. Read the statement (published in March 2007) "Perspektiven der sozial-ökologischen Forschung und ihre Förderung" (in German): http://www.isoe.de/ftp/soef_perspektiven.pdf
	In May 2005 the first European-wide discussion of the 7th Framework Research Programme took place at the conference "What Science - What Europe" hosted by the Greens/European Free Alliance (EFA) in the European Parliament. Thomas Jahn gave commented the framework within his presentation "Integrated Knowlegde for Sustainable Innovations – a Transdisciplinary Perspective": Download of the presentation: http://www.isoe.de/ftp/tagungen/thj_efaconference05.pdf Abstract: http://www.isoe.de/ftp/tagungen/thj_efaconference05abstract.pdf
	German private, non-profit research institutions collaborated to draft comments on the forthcoming Seventh Framework Programme, and in particular on the proposed rules for participation. The document is available on the pages of the European Commission under: ftp://ftp.cordis.lu/pub/fp7/docs/german_nonprofits_fp7_rules.pdf and on the page; the CORDIS News Service has published a report on the comments under: http://cordis.europa.eu/fetch?CALLER=EN_NEWS&ACTION=D&SESSION=&RCN=25570
	The Evaluation Network for Transdisciplinary Research has spent several years working on the question of how the quality of transdisciplinary re-search processes can be secured and evaluated. As the central result, the "Guide for the Formative Evaluation of Research Projects" was published in German and English language. The Guide is available in print and electronic versions through the Institute for Social-Ecological Research: http://www.downloads.isoe.de/literatur/evalunet_e.htm. Further information on the guide you will find in our press release: Evaluation of transdisciplinary research The Foreword by Thomas Jahn is available for Download:  Foreword (pdf-file, 117 kb) Detailed information on the project
	Our electronical newsletter Social Ecology which is published twice a year you can order here: Electronical News - Order Form

We also recommend the presentation by Immanuel Stiess "Life Cycle Management of Urban Neighbourhoods – A Demand-Oriented Approach to Urban Renewal" within the session A7 "Strategies for the City of Tomorrow" on Thursday 11/05/07
http://www.fona.de/de/3_akteure/forum_2007/index.php?we_objectID=4942

Date 2007-10-08